Artist Series Presents WEST SIDE STORY, Now thru 12/9

The tour of the smash hit Broadway revival of WEST SIDE STORY is coming to Jacksonville! WEST SIDE STORY opens at the Times-Union Center's Moran Theater tonight, December 4th and runs through Sunday, December 9th for 8 performances only! Tony Award-winning librettist Arthur Laurents' Broadway direction is recreated for the tour by David Saint, the Associate Director on Broadway. The original Jerome Robbins choreography is reproduced by Tony Award-nominee Joey McKneely (The Boy from Oz, The Life).

Tickets for WEST SIDE STORY begin at $37.00 and are available at the Artist Series Box Office at (904) 632-3373 or online at www.artistseriesjax.org. Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more at (904) 632-3228 or groupsales@fscj.edu.

WEST SIDE STORY tells the story of star-crossed lovers Tony and Maria as they struggle to rise above the hatred and intolerance that surrounds them. WEST SIDE STORY soars as the greatest love story of all time and remains as powerful, poignant and timely as ever. The Bernstein and Sondheim score is considered to be one of Broadway's finest and features such classics of the American musical theatre as "Something's Coming," "Tonight," "America," "I Feel Pretty" and "Somewhere."

The cast features Addison Reid Coe as Tony, MaryJoanna Grisso as Maria, Michelle Alves as Anita, Theo Lencicki as Riff and Andrés Acosta as Bernardo.

Also featured are Amber Ardolino as a Shark, Yesenia Ayala as a Shark, Lauren Cannon as Graziella, Konrad Case as Lt. Schrank, Blue Cervini as a Jet, Max Chucker as A-rab, Mark Deler as a Shark, Erika Hebron as a Swing, Dan Higgins as Diesel, Matthew Krob as Glad Hand, Greg London as Doc, Guy Mandia Jr as Action, Thomas Mothershed as Officer Krupke, Louie Napoleon as a Swing, Thaddeus Pearson as a Shark, Josh Pins as Baby John, Anthony Raimondi as a Swing, J. Nycole Ralph as Consuela, Tory Ramirez as a Shark, Bridget Riley as Anybodys, Ricardo Rique-Sanchez as Pepe, Arianna Rosario as a Shark, Carolina Sanchez as Rosalia, Michael Shultz as Big Deal, Jeff M. Smith as Snowboy, Tony Thomas as a Shark, Juan Torres-Falcon as Chino and Laura Volpacchio as a Swing.

The Associated Press says WEST SIDE STORY "remains Broadway's best dance-driven musical. Five decades have not dimmed the extraordinary choreography or the score that pulsates throughout." Variety says, "The true stars of WEST SIDE STORY are Jerome Robbins' graceful, endlessly expressive choreography and Leonard Bernstein's score, which still sounds bracingly modern a half-century after it was first heard. The music is a primal force." WEST SIDE STORY is written by three theatrical luminaries: two-time Tony Award winner Arthur Laurents (book) and multiple Tony and Grammy Award winners Leonard Bernstein (music) and Stephen Sondheim (lyrics) in his Broadway debut. WEST SIDE STORY features scenic designs by James Youmans, costumes by Tony Award nominee David C. Woolard, lighting by Tony Award winner Howell Binkley and sound design by Peter McBoyle.

WEST SIDE STORY PERFORMANCE SCHEDULEDECEMBER 4 - 9, 2012

Tuesday, December 4th at 7:30PMWednesday, December 5th at 7:30PMThursday, December 6th at 7:30PMFriday, December 7th at 8:00PMSaturday, December 8th at 2:00PM and 8:00PMSunday, December 9th at 1:30PM and 7:00PM